One Last Chance
by LKCLDC
Summary: Rose moves to New York City to live with her best friend, Lissa, and her husband, Christian, after a horrible accident that left her fiance, Mason, dead. Rose, trying to cope with the pain, goes to work for Christian, and his partner, Dimitri. Will Dimitri be able to push passed the barriers that Rose has put around herself? Will he be able to show her how to love again?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I have had this on my mind for quite some time now, and since I have some free time in the near future I thought I could write it.**

**I hope that is as good as I want it to be! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know! I love you all!**

**LKC**

"Rose!" Lissa threw herself into Rose's arms, her pale blonde hair flying in every direction, the minute she opened the heavy front door to let Rose into the house.

After several months of being in the hospital, following the accident, and almost every bone being broken, Rose was almost glad for the choking, death grip her best friend had on her. Rose's life had seemed a nightmare ever since she had woken up in the hospital not knowing what had happened, or why she had gauze wrapped around her head, a cast on her left arm, and casts on both of her legs.

"Lissa, let her breath and let her step into the house." Christian, Lissa's husband, said with a slight smile playing on his lips. Christian was a handsome man, not that Rose would ever admit to it. He was pale in complexion, with shaggy black hair, and ice blue eyes. He stood about six foot two and had the muscles to compliment his build. But the feelings had always been sisterly, never anything more. The only person she had ever felt anything for had been Mason, and that wouldn't happen ever again.

Lissa stepped back, and held Rose at arm's length, looking her over with tears in her beautiful green eyes, that threatened to spill over.

"Don't Liss. I've cried enough lately." Rose's voice sounded hollow, even to Rose herself. She just couldn't see any reason to put any emotion into her voice lately, or anything else for that matter. She was like a shell that walked around most the time. She felt so distanced from her body, she wasn't sure if she would ever find her way back.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just I'm so glad you're here, and that you are going to stay with us." Lissa paused a split second before adding, "I was so scared."

Rose didn't need Lissa to elaborate about why she was scared, Rose just knew.

"I know." Rose let her voice trail off, and her eyes dip down to look at the concrete below her feet.

This time when Rose was pulled into a hug, it wasn't Lissa, it was Christian. Whether anyone else knew it or not, he did have a soft side, he just didn't show it very often.

Rose felt a sob welling up into her throat; it wasn't just for herself, but for Lissa, Christian, and everyone else affected by Mason's death.

Christian stepped back, placing a finger under Rose's chin and lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Rose, we will get through this. I'm not going to pretend and say it's going to be easy, but we will make it. _You _will make it thought this. I promise."

If Rose's heart hadn't of been shattered she would have had some snippy comeback about his little speech, but then again if her heart wasn't shattered then he would have had no reason to have said any such words.

Rose nodded in understanding and followed them both in the house when the motioned for her to follow.

"Your room is ready, and there are fresh towels in the closet in the bathroom, if you want to go relax and take a shower until Christian gets the grill going, and dinner fixed." Lissa said with a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes, just like everyone else when Rose looked at them, they smiled with pity rather than anything else.

Rose nodded, picked up her bags that Christian had brought in for her, and turned to head down the hall, that would lead to her new room until she got back on her feet again.

She was almost glad for the reprieve that LIssa had given her. She loved Lissa like a sister, she always had, considering she grew up and practically lived with Lissa's family. It always seemed that Rose's mom had been too busy at her job to care anything about what Rose done. So Lissa's parents substituted as her parents.

Christian had grown up with them also, and they all had been inseparable, until Christian, being a year older, had left to go to college some three states away. That was when Lissa broke down and called Christian crying her eyes out, confessing that she loved him. Christian had transferred to a college in their home town the next day, and the two of them had been inseparable since. Rose had always teased the two of them that they would end up getting married, considering how they used to look at each other, little did she know, she was right.

Rose dropped her bags onto her new bed, opened the one with all of her toiletries, and grabbed the shampoo, conditioner, and her favorite body wash, all before heading into the shower. She hoped that the shower would make her feel somewhat like a human being again.

The shower was as hot as she could stand it, making steam roll throughout the bathroom. Rose sat in the middle of the shower her head between her knees and her arms wrapped protectively around herself.

This was all her fault. Or at least she thought it to be. Mason had been her everything, and one night was all it had taken to ruin everything. It was supposed to be just a fun night out with some of her girl friends, but half way through the night, all of her friends had met up with random guys and had left to go back to their place, or to a cheap hotel. Rose had been too drunk to drive home, so she had called Mason to come get her.

If she just wouldn't have called Mason, or if she would have just stayed home, he still would have been alive. God, she had to do something, anything, this hurt too much.

"Rose?" Lissa soft voice was muffled by the door the separated the bathroom from the bedroom. "Dinner's ready whenever you are."

Rose knew she should respond and tell Lissa she would be down later, or at least tell her she wasn't hungry. But her throat was clogged with emotion. Rose knew when Lissa didn't persist in tell her more that she had left to go join Christian in the kitchen.

Rose stood, shutting the water off while she did, stepped out onto the plush white bath mat, dried and dressed into her favorite pair of ripped jeans and her favorite shirt, Mason's shirt.

She stood looking into the mirror for what seemed like ages. Used to, she had loved what she saw in the mirror. Long, dark, beautiful hair, tanned skin, big brown eyes. She used to be a strong willed, funny, outgoing, the center of conversations, and most of all she loved life, but now all she saw was this girl. This intruder that had somehow managed to take over her life and bring her nothing but pain and weakness.

Rose sighed and turned away from the mirror, and headed out towards the kitchen to choke down some food that she prayed would stay down. She hadn't been able to eat much since the accident, always ending up throwing it right back up. At first the doctors blamed the trauma, then they blamed the stress, and eventually they ended up blaming her, saying she was forcing herself to do it.

"What's for dinner?" Her voice seemed small in the large kitchen.

"Steak, and potatoes." Christian always did the cooking around the house. Lissa had tried and tried again, but always burnt, or ruined the food somehow, and considering that was what Christian had went to school for, he was a pro at it.

Rose sat down in the place set for her across from Lissa, and started picking at her food. The steak tasted amazing, along with the potatoes, but Rose could tell just by how her stomach was acting she was going to be sick after she got done eating.

"Christian, you're still in part with the lawyers' office right?" When he nodded she continued, "Do you think you could get me a job there, or at least an interview?" Rose had no idea where the question came from, all she knew is she needed to stay busy, do something, or the madness and pain were going to take over her life, and as bad as she wanted to just curl up in a ball and drift off, and allow the pain inside her soul to consume her she couldn't do that.

"Rose I own half of the company; I can do anything I want." Christians smile, and sarcasm made Rose feel better, not much but a little. "But why do you want to go to work, don't you want to relax for a little while?" Rose could read the confusion in his eyes, but he kept his face passive.

"I would love to 'relax' but if I do, I'm going to go crazy." Rose sighed, and pushed her plate back into the center of the table. "You guys have no idea how thankful I am that you opened your home for me. I sat in the hospital for months, and if I sit around any longer all I'm going to do his think about Ma—him." Rose couldn't bring herself to say his name; it was like a knife to her heart.

"Ok. Well I think Dimitri needs a secretary, I'll talk to him tomorrow morning. I would say you could work for me, but I don't have any open spots. And as for the crazy part, Rose you've been that way since we were little." Christian jumped out of his chair, laughing before Lissa could smack his arm. Rose was thankful that he at least tried to act normal around her.

"Thanks, Christian." Rose had a ghost of a smile playing on her lips, the first one since the accident. It was a small step, but a step none the less.

**Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank everyone for your support and the liking of this story! You guys make me want to keep going! **

"Rose?" Lissa's voice pushed through the layers of sleep that held Rose captive. She had slept fitfully most of the night, tossing and turning, up and down, nightmare after nightmare, and that was all after her stomach had rid itself of all contents.

She opened her eyes to see Lissa's head framed by the over head light. She looked so much like an angel, with her long blonde hair, and fair complexion. In the years prior LIssa had been a model for one of the most famous modeling agency in the world. Lissa had been more than willing to take a season off to stay home with Rose, and help her heal. Just another thing that Rose felt guilty for.

"Yeah?" Rose's voice was scratchy from sleep, but she couldn't find it in her self to care.

"Christian just called, Dimitri wants you to interview in two hours. I don't know why he's bothering with an interview when he going to hire you just because you're Christian, and I's friend." Lissa seemed almost timid when talking to Rose, but that could just be from all the years of Rose biting her head off in the mornings for disturbing her. She had never been a morning person and didn't see it changing.

"Ok." Rose sighed, and sat up, pushing her hair out of face. She had thought many times about cutting it off, and thought that maybe now she would, she didn't have a reason for it to be long anymore, Mason was gone, and he's the one who had loved it.

"I told Christian that I would drive you down there, and Christian said you could ride home with him." Lissa had moved from the bed to Rose's bags, digging through them to try and find something suitable for an interview, Rose was sure of it.

"I thought you said this was just an interview?" Rose felt her heart thump in her chest, hard. She thought that she might have had a little more time to adjust to the idea of working again.

"Christian said the job is yours. Dimitri just wants to do things right and give you an interview. He is always doing things by the rules. I don't think I have ever seen, or heard of him breaking a rule." Lissa laughed while saying this. Rose could tell Lissa and Christian as well held this, Dimitri, with high regards. He had supposedly been Christian's best friend since college.

"Oh ok. Yeah that sounds great." Rose swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood, waiting for the lightheadedness to take over her body, and as always after she had been sick the previous night, she almost passed out. She did her best to hide it from her best friend, which was more difficult then Rose could have perceived, since Lissa knew her better than she knew her self.

"Rose if you don't want to go to work, that's fine. We asked you to move to New York and live with us because we love you. Not for you to work. If you are worried about Dimitri, don't. He's one of the most caring people I know. He tries to play that he's hard, but he's really not. He has a wild side, or at least he did when they first started the company, but about a year after the company had began, he changed." Lissa had a far away look in her eyes, as if she was remembering the change that had taken place.

"No, I do want to work, I have to do something. I just didn't think it would be quite this soon." Rose gave a most un-lady like snort, "But better now than later."

Even though Rose had taken a shower the night before Lissa demanded she take another saying, her hair looked that of a birds nest. Not that Rose really cared, but she went along with Lissa's plans. After all, she was the beauty extraordinaire.

Rose let Lissa pick out her clothes, do her hair, pick the perfume, polish her nails, everything but makeup. Rose put her foot down on the makeup. She had worn very little before the accident and she definitely didn't see a point in wearing any now. She had no one to impress.

The car ride to the office that Rose would now be working at, took a little less the half an hour to make. When they pulled into the parking lot, Rose's heart doubled in speed. She had no clue as to why she was so nervous, maybe it was because she felt guilty for going to work to keep her mind off of all the pain she had caused.

Christian met Rose and Lissa outside the big double glass doors, giving Lissa a quick kiss and an 'I love you' before taking Rose by the elbow and showing her inside. Rose turned almost pleadingly to Lissa before the door shut and blocked her from view.

"Rose, its fine, calm down. I promise Dimitri doesn't bite," he paused before adding, "hard at least."

And just like that Rose felt better. She already had the job, and this was what she wanted, or what she hoped she wanted. She just couldn't help feel like she was betraying Mason. She thought that she should have been staying in her room, isolated from the world.

Mason had been so amazing to her. He always had her care upmost in his mind. She had met him in high school, during her partying days. He had calmed her down, and showed her that there was fun to be had without running off with guys, and drinking every weekend. He had shown her love and kindness, when she was trying to replace the void in her heart left by her ever absent mother and father. And he had almost filled the void, almost.

Christian led Rose to an office that had an half open oak door that read simply 'Belikov'. Rose figured that was Dimitri's last name. Christian paused only long enough to tap one knuckle on the door before turning to her, smiling, and nodding.

"You've already got the job Rose, but just so you know, Dimitri can be intimidating to those who don't know him. Don't let it bother you; he is amazing at what he does." Christian gave a slight hug and pushed her through the door, at the same time telling Dimitri that Rose was coming in.

Rose looked around the room nervously, taking in the seen before her. Brown leather chairs against a far wall where clients could wait if Dimitri wasn't quite ready for them. Light cream walls, with a carpet to compliment any color.

"Rose?" A deep, accented voice rumbled through the room, making her blood heat a degree, just hearing it.

Rose turned her head to look behind the big oak desk, at the man standing. He had brown hair tied in a leather thong at the back of his neck, deep brown eyes, muscles that only came from endless hours in a gym, lips that should be banned for all time, and for no reason at all Rose felt a blush heat her cheeks.

At her nod he continued, "Hi, my name is Dimitri." He talked with a slight accent that Rose couldn't quite place.

She walked forward and put her hand into his outstretched, waiting one. His was warm, callused, swallowed her completely, and it tingled Rose's almost to the point it shocked her.

Dimitri waved for her to have a seat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk, while taking a seat himself.

"I'm sure you already know, but the job is yours, Christian spoke highly of you. I just like to know that you know what you're getting into before hand." Rose nodded, trying not to look into his eyes for to long of a period.

"I expect you to be here on time, have the work done when I ask for it, and be polite and courteous to my clients. Really that is all that I ask for, are you still interested?"

"Yes." Rose had more emotion in her voice than she had had in months. She couldn't help but feel different in his presence. She felt peace, and a small light of hope that maybe everything would be ok in time.

"Ok, your desk is right outside the main door to my office, mainly all you'll be doing is answering phone calls, putting in peoples information, and in time answering questions as too legal actions." He stood, motioning for her to do the same, "and Rose, if there is anything that I can do personally for you, I'll try my best to help. Christian told me some of your story, and I'm terribly sorry." Rose could tell he meant it, and in that moment something came back to life inside her chest.

"Thank you." Rose quickly ducked out of the room and to her desk, eager to start her new job.

**Ok guys let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I have decided I will update once a week, hopefully this will make the chapters longer, and have more in them. Thank you guys for all of your reviews. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am!**

"So?" Lissa was waiting promptly behind the front door when Christian opened it for Rose and him to enter.

"Liss, why don't you let Rose get into the house, take off her shoes, and sit down before you start bombarding her with questions?" Christian was laughing at the way Lissa was acting. Ever since the accident Lissa had treated Rose more like a daughter, or a very much younger sister. Christian knew it sometimes got on Rose's nerves but she never said anything to insult what Lissa was doing, or how she was acting.

Christian loved Rose. Not like he loved Lissa, but he looked at her like a sister. She used to argue, and fight with him, and could give him a run for his money on comebacks, or winning arguments. But that was what made Rose who she was. She was, or used to be, fun, energetic, laughing constantly, and then it all changed when she woke up in the hospital.

"I know, I know. I was just so excited and I couldn't wait." Lissa looked sheepish that she was so impatient.

Rose did indeed take her shoes off, get something to drink, and sit down before answering any questions.

"Well," Rose began but wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. She had had a good day, slow maybe, but well.

Her boss, Dimitri, wasn't hateful by any means, but he wasn't warm and fuzzy either. He had a very stern way about him, and it seemed to Rose that he always had to be in control of everything, which she was more than willing to comply too. She had no reason what's so ever to butt heads with him, although it did kind of bother her that he had to have everything perfect.

He had sent back one report four different times, just because she had either forgotten to leave room for his signature, or she had misspelled a word. She understood why it needed to be right, but the attitude didn't have to come with it, and that was when she decided that any earlier thought, on her behalf, of him being good looking, had flown out the window.

"I didn't mind it, if that's what you asking." Rose said looking down into her glass of tea.

"Well I was hoping for more details than that." Lissa had moved across the living room, that Rose had led them too after getting her drink, and sitting on her favorite chair by the bay window.

Rose shrugged before continuing, "It kept my mind busy and I didn't think about much other than Dimitri being a complete psycho path, and the fact that everything has to be perfect." Rose had finally looked up from her glass, and Lissa could see the weariness in her eyes.

Lissa had forgotten how hard going back to work must have been for her best friend. If Lissa had her way about things, Rose would have been staying home with her, and healing. But then again maybe this was what was best for her.

"Yeah, I told you things had to be done right around him." Lissa emphasized, nodding.

"I know you told me, but I didn't think it would be that bad, my gosh Liss, he's horrible." Rose didn't really mean he was 'horrible' but then again she had always been a little dramatic. Not that she would ever admit to it.

Lissa laughed and before she could continue Christian had popped his head into the room, "What do you ladies want for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I don't care it's up to Rose." Lissa never was one to make a decision, even if it was just picking something to eat.

"I'm not really hungry, how about you two go ahead. I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed, it's been a long day, and grumpy said I had to be there when Christian showed up."

Rose pretended not to notice the look exchanged between Christian and Lissa when she said she wasn't going to eat anything. They were already worried enough about her, they didn't need to worry about her vomiting incidences either.

Rose got up gave Lissa a quick hug, and Christian a squeeze on the arm, and left the room, only to realize that half way down the hall she had forgotten her tea, and she figured if she wasn't going to eat anything, then the least she could do would be to drink her tea.

Rose had made it to the edge of the doorway leading into the living room, when she heard muffled voices.

"Christian, what are we going to do? She hardly ate anything last night, and what she did eat I heard her throwing up after she went to bed, and now she isn't eating anything tonight?"

"I mean she's already skin and bones. She should be in the hospital, but that won't do any good."

Lissa was almost in tears, which broke Rose's heart. She had hoped that neither one of them had heard her horrible retching the previous night.

"I know Liss, but what else can we do? I mean we have opened our home to her, not that I didn't want to, don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy Rose is with us. Lissa we can't do any more than love her."

Rose turned and walked back down the hallway towards her bedroom, her head hung low, and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rose sat in the shower, much like she did the night before. She just couldn't understand what mistakes she had made in her young life to deserve this unhappiness. She didn't want to continue living, she didn't want to see the pain in her eyes every single time she saw her reflection, or the pain in her friend's eyes.

* * *

The next morning her alarm clock, blaring in her ear, woke her up without a problem. It took a minute before Rose finally figured out why she was getting up so early, and then she remembered she had a job now.

Rose showered, dressed, threw her hair back into a bun and made her way to the kitchen. She knew she had to at least try and eat something, especially now that Lissa and Christian knew she couldn't keep food down.

"Morning Rose." Lissa was up and sitting at the table watching Christian, cook, with a dreamy look in her eyes, that made Rose's heart twist with pain. She shouldn't have been able to feel anything, or at least she didn't think she should. Her heart was dead inside, nothing could bring that back to life.

"Morning." Rose answered headed for the fridge to so she could get the orange juice and poor some into a glass.

"Is Bacon, and eggs ok for breakfast Rose?" Christian had a plate pilled high with eggs, bacon, and toast that she assumed was for everyone and not just him. Although Christian could eat, he couldn't eat that much. Rose had always been able to beat him in the past when they had gotten into eating contests.

"Yea, that's sounds great." Rose was skeptical whether she was going to be able to force herself to eat anything.

Surprisingly she was able to keep everything down, and eat more than what she normally would have. Maybe it still wasn't enough to keep her going but it was a start.

* * *

"Rose, you know Lissa is worried about you right, hell even I'm worried about you." Christian was tapping nervously on the steering wheel of his car.

They had left shortly after breakfast, trying to get to the office as early as possible so Dimitri wouldn't have a fit.

"Yeah I know," Rose looked down at her folded hands feeling ashamed of herself. "Christian, it's not that I don't want to get better, but I just don't see the point in it."

Christians tapping stopped abruptly, his head swiveling around to focus on her face.

"How could you say that Rose?" He was getting frustrated, which surprised Rose, normally he was always calm, and cool. "Do you think Mason would want you living like this, do you think we want you living like this?

"Rose we love you. Lissa was beside herself for the first month after the accident. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, and when she did she woke up in cold sweats. I swore that you guys were linked or something because she was just like you. She felt your pain."

She did feel guilty, but that wasn't going to change the fact of what happened, and how she thought it to be her fault.

They rode the rest of the way to work in silence, Christian not knowing what else to say, and Rose feeling guiltier than ever.

* * *

"Rose, I have left the folders on your desk that need to be finished by two today." Dimitri hadn't even let Rose make all the way through the hall door before telling her what he had left for her.

"Ok." Rose sighed in defeat, it wasn't that she minded the work, but she did mind the over bearing gorilla that wouldn't get off her back.

"Rose they have to be done by two and no later. I have some clients coming in late tonight also, something about a murder case. If I decide to take it, are you up for late nights?"

Rose was definitely surprised when he asked her instead of telling her she would be staying late to help.

"Well, I'll ask Christian and Lissa if I can use one of their cars—"

"No need, I'll take you home on my way home." With that he turned and walked back into his office.

**Ok so now that we've worked up to the point of Dimitri and Rose working together and working late…What is going to happen? I would LOVE input into things to change, or make better! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Don't forget to review!**

Rose had been slaving away at her computer most of the day. She had skipped lunch in order to get the many forms, and paper after paper just perfect, so Dimitri wouldn't have a fit and make her do them over again.

She couldn't believe that there was so much work that went into being a lawyer. The guidelines, the papers, and the mental brutality it took out on someone, was enough to make anyone go crazy. She definitely had a new respect for Dimitri after only her second day. She was impressed the way he handled things, always calm and collected, never losing his focus. Rose remembered Lissa saying something about him changing not too long after Christian and Dimitri had started the company, and Rose vaguely wondered what had happened for him to do a one-eighty flip.

* * *

Before Rose knew it was past time for closing, all of Dimitri's appointments had come and gone, Christian was telling Rose goodbye, and Rose had a fleeting thought that it would have been nice if she could have went home with him, and relaxed with Lissa. Oh well, she thought.

"Dimitri there is someone at the door." Rose was almost nervous, until she remembered that he was supposed to have a late appointment with someone.

"Go ahead and let them in and send them back, I'm ready for them." Rose did as she was instructed, letting them in, asking if they wanted anything to drink, and when they declined she sent them back to Dimitri's office, closing the door behind them as the went in.

Rose sat back down behind her desk continuing working on reports, and files that had to be done by the next afternoon. She surprised her self by just how fast she had learned how to do all of the paperwork.

It had been about thirty minutes into the meeting when Dimitri came out of his office, closing the door behind him and laying fifty dollars on Roses desk in front of her along with a take out menu.

"I've circled what I want, you pick out what you want and we will eat here after I get these clients out, but go ahead and call it in, the foods always good, but their slow." For the first time Rose saw Dimitri smile since she had met him. Rose decided it was a good look for him.

* * *

Dimitri had hoped that this night wouldn't end up being as long as what he figured it would be. The clients he had in his office were pleading the case of their nineteen year old son, accused of murdering his girl friend. Mikhail and Sonya Tanner had been trying for weeks to get Dimitri to look at the case of their son, Jesse.

They had already been in the office for well over two hours, and Dimitri could already tell that by the folder the previous attorney had drew up, the kid was innocent. Unless of course he had people lying for him, one of which was a doctor. Jesse swore that he knew who did it, but no one would believe him. He accused Victor Dashkov's son, Nate, of killing her. Jesse had confronted Nate, in the days before the murder, after he learned from his girl friend, Mia that Nate had been stalking, and harassing her.

Jesse swore he had just talked to Nate on the night in question. Telling Nate to stay away from Mia, of course there had been no witnesses that were accounted for of the confrontation. The next day when Jesse had went over to Mia's house he found her dead, with multiple stab wounds, laying in her own pool of blood, and immediately called the police. They had found the knife lying in the sink, still covered in blood. The police said that they couldn't find any prints on the knife, but they just 'knew' Jesse had done it.

Normally Dimitri wouldn't have taken such a case; he knew most of the detectives of the force and thought they were good stand up guys, but this case struck him funny.

Victor Dashkov seemed to think he owned this side of the town. He was the most feared mob boss in the city. Some of the police departments had been trying to bring him down for years, but the officers involved in the cases always ended up dead. Dimitri had no thought in his mind whether or not it was really Nate that did kill Mia. He knew it, just as Jesse did.

"So Mr. Belikov, will you take our son's case? Jesse's a good boy, he loved Mia, he was going to ask her too marry him; I know he didn't kill her. He couldn't do something like that." Sonya look as if she were ready to burst into tears, and Mikhail looked almost as miserable, but he was reassuring Sonya.

Dimitri sighed, rolled his powerful shoulders, trying to ease some of tension he was feeling. "Yes. I will warn you though; this is not going to be easy. I know without a doubt that Nate killed Mia, but as you know, Victor Dashkov, is a powerful enemy and it won't be easy. So I have to ask, are you prepared for such a fight?"

Dimitri loved the idea of taking down one of the most powerful men in the state, and hoped that he himself was ready for such a fight.

"Yes." There was no hesitation in the answer. Sonya and Mikhail answered simultaneously, looking as if they had hope for the first time since their son was locked up.

"Alright. In the next couple of days I will head down to the police department and talk to Jesse. You might want to tell him that I will now be his lawyer, and he is going to have to confide in me if this is going to work, but the answer of whether or not I represent him, will entirely be up to him." Which was true, if Jesse didn't want to cooperate then the case was hopeless.

After saying their goodbyes and Mikhail, and Sonya thanking Dimitri repeatedly, he was finally walking them out of the office, and of the building.

* * *

"Rose?" Dimitri called her name, hoping the food was still hot.

"Still here." Her voice was always so timid when she talked to him, or anyone else.

Dimitri couldn't help but think Rose was beautiful, but he had no desire to pursue or even try and get involved with her. He did feel for her though, he knew she suffered and he hated that something like that happened to someone like Rose. She seemed like a good person underneath all that grief. Christian spoke highly of her, and said that she was more a sister than his own sister, which took Dimitri by surprise.

"Is the food still hot?" Just the thought of something to eat made his stomach rumble with anticipation. He hoped that Rose ordered more than enough; she was way to thin in his opinion. But then again his opinion didn't matter.

"Yea, I think anyway, I haven't touched it." Rose wrinkled her nose at the mere thought of eating something. Used to she loved Chinese, and food period.

"Well let's eat, and then I'll drop you off at Christians." Dimitri voice sounded almost distracted to Rose's ears, and she had to wonder whether it was because of the case or not.

She didn't want idle conversation but it seemed awkward sitting in silence, and she hoped that maybe if she could keep Dimitri talking he wouldn't notice that she wasn't really eating anything. "So did you take the case?"

Dimitri sat down in the chair opposite Rose, picking up his food and fork. "Yes, I don't know whether I'll be able to win it or not, but I am going to try."

Rose gave a most un-lady like snort, "From what Christian and Lissa tell me, you haven't lost a case since you opened this company."

"That is true, but I'm dealing with one of the most powerful mob bosses in the state now, maybe even in the country. I'll be lucky to make it to court without getting shot or worse Christian or you get hurt, for being involved with the company."

Which was true, but he knew what he was taking on when he said he would take the case. But Dimitri wasn't helpless, he knew his way around a gun, and sometimes taught Jujitsu classes after work, if he had time. He just prayed that it didn't come to him having to kill someone, to protect himself or the people he cared about.

Rose shrugged her shoulders, not really caring whether she lived or died at this point, but she wasn't going to say that out loud.

They sat in silence, eating for a while before the silence became too much for Dimitri to bear, which was odd normally he loved silence. "So how long are you staying with Christian and Lissa?"

Rose was taken aback by his question. She was prepared to talk about work, the case, Christian, or Lissa, but never about herself. "Well, I don't know for sure. They said I could live with them until I found my own place or I wanted to move out, but I feel like I'm imposing even though Lissa has been my best friend since we were little." Rose was surprised that she had told him all of that; she didn't even talk to Lissa that much anymore. Not only that, she didn't like that this emotionless man was asking her questions about he personal life. It made her nervous.

"Christian told me that Lissa hated the circumstances but she couldn't be happier if she wanted to be." He paused before continuing, "They really do love you, you know."

Rose nodded, swallowing what was in her mouth, smiling. "I love them too. Christian was always a pain when we were growing up though. Ask him sometime about how he lights a propane grill." She was laughing by the time she got done finishing the sentence, which seemed to surprise her even more. Rose hadn't laughed in what seemed like forever.

"Why, what happened?" Rose's laugh was contagious, and Dimitri couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Christian had come home from college one year, and decided he was going to grill steaks. So he went out to light the grill, turned the propane tank on, and realized he forgot the matches. So instead of turning the propane off, he just leaves it and goes inside, and comes back out with the matches." Rose had to pause for a breath, from laughing. "He lights it and all Lissa and I heard was a string of curse words a mile long."

At hearing this Dimitri did laugh.

Rose laughing hysterically at the memory now continues, "He came in the house and he looked like one of those cartoon characters after they blew themselves up. It was one of the funniest things I think I have ever seen. Ever since I've called him Pyro." Rose wiped the tears from her eyes, caused by her laughing.

"I'll definitely ask him tomorrow when you guys get here." Dimitri, too was laughing and wiping at his eyes. "Speaking of we should leave, so you can get home and get some sleep."

"Ok, I'll clean up and let you get the lights." Rose picked up her Chinese bowl surprised when she saw it was empty. She couldn't remember eating but a couple bites. She felt full but, not sick, she felt like she was going to be able to keep the food down without a problem.

"Ready?" Dimitri paused at the door, looking back at Rose in question. She was just looking at the empty container. "Rose?"

"I haven't been able to keep food down since the accident, let alone eat anything." Her voice was no more a whisper.

Rose thought over what had changed in order for her to keep food down. She had been sitting and laughing with Dimitri, laughing. She felt guiltier than ever. How could she set and tell stories and laugh with a man she didn't know when Mason was dead? How could she be so thoughtless? Would Mason want her to be like this? Would he want her happy?

Dimitri stood watching the indecision wrap around Rose like a snake, curling in wait. He assumed that the grief and guilt had made her sick and made it impossible to keep food down. "Rose, he wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

Dimitri had no idea what possessed him to tell her that, maybe it was because he wished someone would have told him sooner, after his loss.

"Let's just go." She tossed the empty carton away and walked passed Dimitri out the door.

Dimitri sighed, that's what he got for trying to talk to people. He thought that talking to Rose had been simple through the time they were eating, but then she just cut herself off.

He understood why she did it, because he had done the same thing, and still was. Hell it hurt to even think about it. He locked the door and followed Rose to his waiting truck.

**Ok guys sorry about the length of wait for this chapter, I had trouble trying to end it just the right way. I hope that you like it, and please if you have any qualms about it tell meJ Thanks Guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Ok sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter posted. It's been crazy the last month, between work, and building a house. So I hope you guys like this chapter! Thanks to all who support me with this. You guys mean so much to me!**_

Dimitri deliberately waited a couple days after the consolation with Mikhail and Sonya before going down to the police station to talk to Jesse himself, hoping the extra days of suspense would make the kid that much more willing to cooperate and answer all of his questions.

"Rose?" The last couple nights that they had been working seemed to be much the same as the first. Rose had grown more comfortable with him, enough even to tell him about some of her past, but she was always careful to avoid the accident.

He had found himself wanting to open up to her they way she seemed to be opening up to him, but he wasn't following down that path. He refused to let himself open up to someone and have them judge him for the mistakes he had made.

Hell he was so ashamed of what he had done that he hadn't spoke to his family in Russia since he had left to come to America for college. If he wouldn't have left then maybe no one would have gotten hurt or killed. But he had made his decisions and now he had to live with them as a rule.

He had tried to cover up his pain with parties, and girls and lots of alcohol when he started school. That had lasted all the way into a full year of the new company, which he and Christian had opened, before he realized he was good at what he was doing and realized he had people looking at him and expecting things.

He then poured himself into his work; staying well into the night. He found that in pouring himself into his work, done the same thing the parties and alcohol and girls did, kept his mind closed off from the problems that invaded his mind every night he tried to sleep.

"Yea?" Her voice poured over him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"I want you to come down to the station with me to write down all of the information Jesse gives us." Truthfully, Dimitri had a voice recorder that he normally used, but he liked Rose's company. It was almost as if he could pretend he had told her the horrible secrets he hid from the rest of the world, and she accepted them, because she too felt as if her past was her fault.

"Okay. Let me grab my stuff and ill meet you in your truck."

Rose had been more relaxed lately around Dimitri, and she had a sneaking suspicion it was going to bite her in the rear.

During the day Dimitri was almost hard to get along with, almost to the point she wanted to smack him or pull her own hair out and tell him she quit. But she did like her job even though she had only been there for a few days. But at night when it was just the two of them working late, he was definitely easier to get along with. She could almost say she liked being around him, but only during the nights when the tension was no longer in the building.

Rose noticed she felt comfortable in his presence most of the time, which almost worried her since she didn't even feel comfortable in Lissa's presence yet. Although she had been able to eat and keep food down since her first night of working late with Dimitri, and she had gained almost three pounds since. The nightmares would still invade her at nights when she slept, horrific dreams of blood and the wreck all over again. She would wake up muffling her screams with a pillow so she wouldn't wake Christian or Lissa.

_Maybe one day I'll be normal again._ Rose thought as she climbed into Dimitri's truck.

"Rose I highly doubt you were ever normal." Dimitri's voice pulled Rose out of her tail spin thoughts. She hadn't spoken aloud had she? She guessed she had since Dimitri answered her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to speak aloud." Rose was embarrassed that she had voiced her thought.

"It's fine, but I stand by what I said, I highly doubt you were ever normal." Dimitri's small smile was contagious and Rose found herself smiling along with him.

"For your information I am very normal. It's you and the rest of these crazy people I associate with that are insane." Rose's voice and expression took on haughtiness that she could almost say she felt, instead of just plastering the emotion on her face.

"Some how I find that to be false, I think of myself as very normal." Which was completely a lie, Dimitri felt far from normal.

"Well comrade, we are going to have to agree to disagree." Rose laughed out loud at the irony of it all. Here she was claiming to be normal when she was damaged and she knew Dimitri was as well.

Rose could tell he held himself off from everyone for a reason, it was in his eyes. No matter how much he laughed, or joked he always had a haunted look in his eyes. Rose knew because that look stared back from the mirror every time she looked in one.

"Comrade?" He took his eyes off the road, looking at Rose with his eye brows almost in his hair line.

"Yea. I think it fits you." If Rose didn't know any better she would say she was almost flirting with him. Which was outrageous, she didn't flirt with anyone anymore.

"And I don't have a say in this?"

"Nope." Rose couldn't have smiled more if she tried. It was nice to be able to laugh, even if she did feel guilty.

Dimitri couldn't help what came out of his mouth next, and honestly he wasn't sure he wanted to help it. He wanted to be selfish for once and enjoy a persons company without being stuck in an office and eating out of a container.

"Rose? Let's go to a restaurant tonight." Dimitri could feel a flush running up his neck, and he silently cursed himself for not being able to control it.

Rose's laughter dried up, how in the world was she going to answer a question like that.

"Like a date?" Her voice had grown small; she definitely was not ready to date anyone. She wasn't sure she ever would be. She couldn't betray Mason like that.

Dimitri wasn't quit sure how to answer that, did he even want it to be a date? No he didn't, he decided, definitely no.

"No, I'm just tired of eating out of a container. I wouldn't mind going out to nice restaurant, we don't have any appointments after Jesse today, so we could leave early and I could drop you off at home to change then I could swing back by and pick you up."

Dimitri knew he was rambling but he really just wanted to go out and enjoy someone's company, it didn't have to be just Rose, it could have been Christian. That's what he kept telling himself anyway.

Rose was shocked by request, it sure sounded like a date to her, and honestly she was tired of eating out of a box too. She wanted to go somewhere besides work, and then right back to Lissa and Christians.

"Yea, that sounds like fun." Even as she said the words, Rose felt quilt course through her conscience at her answer. She shouldn't be doing this, this wasn't fair to Mason, and she was on the verge of changing her answer when she saw Dimitri's face.

Dimitri had the biggest smile on his face that Rose had seen. Honestly to Rose it was breathtaking, making her heart catch and beat twice as fast as it should have been. He really was a handsome man.

"Ok I'll pick you back up at around six thirty."

The rest of the drive was quiet; Rose sat staring out the window wondering whether or not she gave the right answer.

"Alright, let's go see what this kid has to say." Dimitri said while parking his truck. "And Rose, thanks."

She didn't need him to elaborate on what he was thanking her for, instinct told her. Together they sat off to try and prove Jesse's innocents.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Rose, you have to hurry up!" Lissa had taken the 'going out for company' a little too far; Rose knew she thought it was a date.

"Lissa, calm down, I'm not going to get all fancied up when it's not a date, and I definitely wouldn't be going if it was." Although Rose wasn't sure if that was the truth or not.

"Well you're still dressing nice, and I'm doing your makeup. You are wearing makeup right?"

There was no way Rose was going to wear makeup. She didn't wear it any other day and she sure wasn't going to wear it just to go out and eat, and Rose's expression must have told Lissa what she feared.

"Rose, Dimitri is going to think you didn't even try." Lissa was huffing in frustration, enough so to make Rose crack a smile at her best friend. "Rose this isn't a laughing matter. You don't understand."

Lissa's tone was enough to make the smile disappear from Rose's mouth entirely. "What don't I understand Liss? He's not some nymphomaniac is he, or a serial killer?" It would just be her luck to date someone like that. _No not a date._ She knew that and she didn't want to date anyone. But then again Dimitri wasn't just anyone.

"No, no, no, nothing like that. Dimitri just doesn't date. No don't cut me off, I know this isn't a date but hear me out." Lissa had always been good about stopping Rose from cutting her off, even when Rose hadn't opened her mouth; Lissa just knew she was going too. "Dimitri doesn't take women out, he doesn't talk to them, look at them, and if he does talk or look at them, it's to turn them down, after they have asked him out."

"Lissa we are not going out just for the heck of it. We are going out to, I'm assuming, discuss the new case. And I don't really see him turning down the kind of girls that were ogling him yesterday as we walked out of the police station." Rose felt a flash of jealousy course through her at the mere reminder of what had happened.

* * *

Dimitri and Rose stepped out of the police station, still discussing what Jesse had told them, and how sure they were that he was innocent, when Rose spotted two tall, dark skinned , light haired, blue eyed women walking toward them looking at Dimitri like he was a tall drink of water, and they were dying of thirst.

"Looks like you have some admirer's." Rose was stunned by the hostility in her voice when she had spoken. She didn't care if Dimitri would have left her standing on sidewalk and went to get their numbers, she just didn't. _Liar, liar, liar_, she swore her mind had a mind of its own.

"Who?" Dimitri hadn't even looked in their direction.

"Give you a hint. Tall, blonde, big boobs, and coincidently they are walking right towards us." Rose hated the feeling that was coursing through her veins.

"Oh. Not my type." Dimitri said after taking a quick glance in their direction. "And definitely not the admirer I was hoping for."

Dimitri wasn't sure why he said that, it just flew out of his mouth. He didn't want any admirers, and definitely not if that admirer was Rose.

Dimitri felt Roses eyes on him, and carefully avoided them by rearranging the briefcase he was caring in his hand. He would not get involved with Rose, or any other woman. Hell he was pretty sure this dinner was a mistake, but he wouldn't go back on what he had set up; he just wasn't that type of person.

Rose was trying to catch his eye so she could question him about his comment, what had he meant by it. Not that she cared enough to let it bother her.

* * *

"Those girls would have bent over backwards to go out with him, and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't been around to get in his way, he would have jumped at the idea." Rose felt sick at the idea, and she had no idea why. Well wasn't that just the biggest lie she kept telling herself, she knew why. The truth was Dimitri was growing on her, and she hated that idea because she was betraying Mason.

Even thinking about Mason made guilt course through her. She shouldn't have agreed to this, she shouldn't be worrying about what she was going to wear, whether or not she was going to wear makeup or feeling jealous over girls that were so obviously attracted to Dimitri.

"Liss, I can't do this. This isn't fair to him." Rose sat down on her bed and sighed in defeat.

"Isn't fair to whom? Dimitri? He's the one who asked you to go out for dinner, and yes I now it's not a date." Lissa turned toward where Rose was sitting, and let the smile die away as soon as she saw her friends face, and the tears in her eyes.

"To Ma-Mason not Dimitri. How is it fair that I'm running off to dinner with another guy when he's dead?" Rose was in hysterics just thinking of the betrayal, God why couldn't Mason be here now? Why did she have to go out with her friends? None of this was fair.

"Rose, look at me." Rose started rocking back and forth on the bed, shaking her head no, in answer.

Lissa knelt down in front of Rose, "Rose you have to calm down. Mason wouldn't want you to do this too yourself." Lissa was hurting for Rose, she knew how much Rose loved Mason, and she also knew that it wasn't fair for Rose too be hurting like this. But Rose had to let Mason go or she was going to end up dying of heartbreak.

"Rose I'll be right back."

Rose hadn't realized Lissa had left until a pair of stronger arms wrapped around her. "Rose, look at me now."

Christian didn't give Rose an option as to whether or not she could keep her face buried in the knees. She lifted her head and looked around for Lissa, and when she couldn't find her, her eyes settled on Christians blue ones.

"You have to stop this, this isn't fair to yourself." Christian had loved Mason too, like a brother. It killed him inside that he was gone, but he knew Mason wouldn't want them sulking over him. Mason had loved life, that's why he and Rose were perfect for each other. But Christian also knew that Mason wanted Rose happy.

"How can you say that? How can you say that it's not fair to me when Mason is the one dead, and I'm still here and going to have dinner with another guy."

"Do you remember two years ago when Lissa and I came to see you guys for a week?" When Rose nodded Christian continued.

"Mason and I had a long talk one night after you and Lissa went to bed. Mason had had a dream that he had died and left you alone, which really freaked me out when we got the call about the accident. But to sum it up, he told me if anything did happen to him, he wanted you happy. Whether or not that meant married to someone besides him. Or if you were just simply happy by yourself." Christian let that sink into Roses mind before continuing. "I know that you know he wanted you happy, you're just too stubborn to see it."

Rose felt tears start to spill over her eyes again, and laid her head on Christian's chest. "Would you want Lissa dating another man?" Rose knew it was a horrible question to ask but she couldn't help it.

Christian put his finger under Rose's chin and lifter her eyes to his. "If that meant her happy, then yes. I wouldn't want her to be like you are, and I know for a fact Mason doesn't want you like this either. Now I'm going to go get Lissa, because all this mushiness is killing me, and besides I hear you have a date to attend."

Rose knew Christian was egging her on, but she just wasn't into it. "I'm not going, and it's not a date."

"Well if you don't want to go for you that's fine, but Dimitri needs to get out." With that Christian ducked out into the hall, and Lissa appeared.

"Now, come on you're already late, and Dimitri will be here in ten minutes." Lissa started scrambling around pulling dresses and shoes what seemed like thin air.

"Lissa it's only ten after six." Or that's what her alarm clock was telling her.

"Right. But Dimitri is early to everything and when he says a certain time; you might as well plan on early. Now go clean up, you have snot stains." Lissa giggled before turning back to her clothing chore.

"Thanks Lissa." Rose said feeling a little better than she had.

* * *

"Lissa, Rose? Dimitri's here." Christian came into Rose's room after knocking.

"How does she look?" Lissa clapped her hands together and smiled with the giddiness of a child.

Christian looked at Rose, and felt his eyebrows disappear into in hairline. "Wow, I didn't know you could clean up this good. I'm impressed Liss."

Christian jumped back as Rose went to smack him, but she did have to admit Lissa had done a good job on picking out her outfit. An above knee, strapless black dress, with ankle strap heels that added a good four inches to her height. She had refused Lissa's make up suggestion and left her hair long hanging down her back.

All of a sudden she was embarrassed. What if she had overdressed or put to much effort into it.

"You'll be fine, and no you're not overdressed, and yes you're beautiful." Lissa knew what Rose had been thinking, she always did. Just like she knew Rose needed to hear what Mason had told Christian.

"Thanks Liss." And with that, Rose sucked in a breath, threw her shoulders back, picked her chin up, and tried to throw some old Rose persona into herself for this night.

**_Ok guys I know I wrote a whole chapter on just Rose getting ready for their non 'date' but I thought this one was very important for the turning point in Rose. _**

**_She has been struggling with her guilt over Mason and will continue to do so, but I hope that she will see that Mason wanted her happy, even if that meant having feelings for someone else._**

**_So what should happen on their non date? Let me know what you think, and what you think of this chapter. _**

**_Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter, my husband and I just finished building our new house, and moved in and their has been a whole lot of training going on here at work but I'm hoping that I will have more time to finish this story now._**

**_Remember more reviews help me to write fasterJ_**

**_Love you guys!_**


	7. Chapter 7

Alright guys, here is chapter seven! I know it took awhile for me to write this one, but I hope four thousand words makes up for it in some way! This was probably my favorite Chapter so far, just because they finally got to open up to someone about the pain and guilt they both feel!

Hope you all like it! Remember the more reviews the fast the updates!

**_Previously:_**

_"Lissa, Rose? Dimitri's here." Christian came into Rose's room after knocking._

_"How does she look?" Lissa clapped her hands together and smiled with the giddiness of a child._

_Christian looked at Rose, and felt his eyebrows disappear into in hairline. "Wow, I didn't know you could clean up this good. I'm impressed Liss."_

_Christian jumped back as Rose went to smack him, but she did have to admit Lissa had done a good job on picking out her outfit. An above knee, strapless black dress, with ankle strap heels that added a good four inches to her height. She had refused Lissa's make up suggestion and left her hair long hanging down her back._

_All of a sudden she was embarrassed. What if she had overdressed or put to much effort into it._

_"You'll be fine, and no you're not overdressed, and yes you're beautiful." Lissa knew what Rose had been thinking, she always did. Just like she knew Rose needed to hear what Mason had told Christian._

_"Thanks Liss." And with that, Rose sucked in a breath, threw her shoulders back, picked her chin up, and tried to throw some old Rose persona into herself for this night._

**Chapter Seven**

"So I made reservations already at Samovar, it's a Russian restaurant, I hope that's ok. It's been awhile since I have eaten anything of my own culture."

Dimitri had seemed nervous ever since he had laid eyes on her, and led her to the limo, which had surprised Rose. She wasn't sure whether or not she was more surprised about the limo, or Dimitri acting nervous. But if she had to take a guess on which one she would be more surprised at, it would have to be the later. Just thinking about how he had looked at her made her shiver in response.

* * *

Rose had walked out into the hallway leading from her room when she had heard Christian and Dimitri talking in hushed tones. She had started to turn back towards the room where Lissa was cleaning up the mess she had made trying to pick something out for Rose to wear, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"You're taking her out on a date D, don't try and deny it because you and I both know you haven't taken a girl out since the first year we started the company, and even when you did take them out it sure as hell wasn't going out for dinner." Christian's voice seemed almost upset, mad even.

"It's not a date Christian." Dimitri's voice sounded bored, like maybe they had been going through this since Dimitri had stepped into their house.

"Bullshit. Since when do you wear suit and tie? What, no answer? I'll tell you. You don't." Christian paused and blew out an extended breath, and continued with an almost hallow voice. "Look I'm sorry; I'm just worried about her. Don't tell her I said so, but she's like my sister, and I love her."

"I know you do, and I just figured that Rose was probably tired of eating takeout every night before I brought her home. That's all."

"Why are standing here in the hall?" Rose jumped and had to muffle a yelp as Lissa's voice whispered in her ear. "You're eaves dropping aren't you?" Lissa had a smile on her face that looked almost like the Lissa she knew before the accident.

"No I was just trying to relax." Rose knew that Lissa saw through her lie, but she never had been good about making things up on the spot.

"Oh really? Well good thing I wasn't standing in your doorway watching you the entire time then, huh? Now come on." Lissa took her by the hand and led Rose out into the open where Christian and Dimitri could see them.

Rose glared at Lissa for dragging her along like a child, but she quickly turned her head towards Dimitri when she heard the quick hiss of breath being dragged into lungs.

Dimitri took one look at Rose and all of the former thoughts of the night not being a date flew out the window. Rose was beautiful in her dress, with her hair down, and no makeup. He worked his eyes up from her heels to her brown eyes that had more of a light in them than he had seen since he'd known her.

Dimitri was vaguely aware of Christian slapping him on the back and telling them to have a good night, and Lissa coming up to kiss him on the cheek, which he had to bend down for. He just couldn't tear his eyes away from Rose.

"You look beautiful Roza." Even to Dimitri, his accent was more prominent. He hadn't really meant to speak but he couldn't help the words pouring out of his mouth.

Rose couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck into her cheeks. "Thank you," she whispered, "but what does that mean?" She had never heard a more beautiful name.

Dimitri looked sheepish, but his eyes still never left hers. "It's your name in Russian. Sorry if you don't like it. Sometimes I slip into my natural language and I don't realize it."

Rose tore her eyes away from Dimitri's, lowering them to the floor. "No I like it."

When she glanced back up at Dimitri, he had a small smile playing on his lips. "Good, because it soot's you. Come on let's go eat."

Dimitri held out his arm for Rose to take before opening the door for them to head out into the warm summer air.

* * *

"I've never had Russian food before. What's it like?" Rose was trying to hide her nervousness from Dimitri, because if truth be told, Rose had never really been nervous around a guy before.

"It's not something I can explain, but you have to try their black bread. It's nothing like mamas but it'll have to do when you live over five thousand away from home." Dimitri smiled but it didn't quit reach his eyes and Rose could tell that being away from Russia bothered him more than he let on.

"When was the last time you went back to Russian?" Rose had never been impressed with the idea of Russian itself. All she could imagine was a frozen wasteland, where people wore those funny looking hats with the ear flaps, and big long coats. She couldn't imagine a more perfect image for hell.

"I left when I was—"Dimitri paused when the sliding glass patrician, that closed the driver of the limo off from them, started sliding down.

"Sir?" The driver looked to be around forty, and sounded like he hated the fact he had to call Dimitri 'sir'.

"Yes, Stan?" Rose could tell that Dimitri was slightly irritated at the fact of being interrupted.

"We are about five minutes away from your destination." And with that, the partition slid back into place with a finality that the conversation had ended.

"Is he always that hateful?" Rose glared at the exact spot where Stan's head would have been, had the partition still been lowered.

Dimitri chuckled before answering. "Yes, but that is just Stan. If I have a party I have to go too for public appearances I always ask for him, just because I know how much he hates his job." It seemed as Dimitri's former nervousness had vanished.

"Anyway, I left Russia when I graduated high school to come here and go to college, and haven't been back since." Dimitri turned his face away from Rose to look out the window at the passing lights.

Rose truly didn't know Dimitri all that well, but what she did know she liked, and could mostly relate too, and she could tell he had left a major part out of his short 'story'. "There has to be more than you leaving to come to college and then never going back."

Dimitri stiffened and clenched his fist remembering what he had left behind, and how people were dead, including his best friend, just because he didn't want to be like his father, and grandfather. Hell he hadn't even planned on coming to America to be a lawyer, he just signed up for the classes as kind of a 'screw you' too his father.

"No, that's it." Dimitri felt horrible for the growling finality in his voice. His anger wasn't directed at Rose, but more towards himself.

Rose flinched away from Dimitri towards the window. "I'm sorry I don't mean to pry." Rose folded her hands into her lap and looked out the window opposite of Dimitri wishing now that she _had_ cancelled the plans he had made for them.

Dimitri recoiled from the hurt in Rose's voice. He hadn't meant to scare, or upset Rose it was just every time he thought about his faults and the problems _he_ had caused back home, it pissed him off.

Dimitri reached over before he could think and took one of Rose's clasped hands into his own and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth over the top. He hated the fact that it felt good to have her hand in his own, hated the little jolt that went through him every time he touched her.

"Roza, I'm sorry, it's just that I've had a bad past and I try my best to hide it."

For whatever reason, the calmness and sincerity of Dimitri's voice made Rose mad. She was tired of being coddled and she hated the fact that she was timid. She wasn't herself, she hated the fact that the accident took away her true self and brought about this hollow shell of a person.

"You know, I never used to be this way." Rose's voice was strong, but at the same time small. And when she saw the confusion written all over his face she continued. "I didn't used to be this girl. I didn't used to be a shell. I used to be fun, outgoing, and loud. Now I'm just this." Rose stiffened and pulled her hand away, "God why am I even telling you this? Never mind."

Dimitri couldn't fathom a reason why he cared so much about this girl. Hell, he was older than she was by a more than a few years; she was a train wreck in more ways than one, he was a successful business man, and didn't need any the hassle of her, even if his gut was telling him something different.

Before either of them could say another word the car came to a stop in front of the restaurant they were eating at, and the door of the limo, on Rose's side, opened showing Stan with a waiting hand to help her out.

Rose sighed and took his hand, pulling herself out of the car and stepping up onto the sidewalk.

Dimitri came around the back of the car and placed a hand at the small of Rose's back guiding her into the front of the restaurant.

"Sir, do you have reservations?" Rose was surprised to find that the waiter was dressed in an all black uniform with a sparkling white shirt underneath his pristine jacket.

"Yes, Dimitri Belikov."

"Ok, Mr. Belikov, right this way."

The waiter took off towards the back of the restaurant, towards the more 'romantic' part.

The table was dressed in a white cloth, with crystal whine glasses, and plates already set with silverware on each side.

Clean was the only thing that came to Rose's mind when she looked at the table. And she was totally out of her element. Heck the fanciest place she had ever been too with Mason was a local diner where they used to live.

Dimitri walked calmly to the table and held the chair out for her and after successfully seating her, sat down himself.

"Your waiter will be here shortly to take your orders." With a smile, and a nod of his head the waiter disappeared, leaving them alone and making Rose nervous all over again. God she hated that feeling.

"You're nervous." Dimitri pulled her mind away from the chaos that was a never ending battle.

"I've never been in this nice of a place; I don't know what to do; or what fork or spoon to eat with." Rose realized she was sort of rambling and quickly shut her mouth.

Dimitri chuckled, sending a jolt through Rose's entire body. "I just use the same utensil for everything. I never learned which utensil was which."

Rose sighed, feeling somewhat more comfortable that Dimitri didn't expect her to be perfect for this dinner. She didn't necessarily have the need to be someone different around him; she actually wanted to be her old self. The Rose that Mason had fell in love with.

The waiter came, took their order, brought them wine, and then abruptly left. Dimitri tried to help Rose order but instead just ordered what he thought she would like, since she had no idea what any of the food was, being Russian cuisine.

Now that the two of them were alone and the waiter wouldn't be back for awhile with their food, Dimitri knew he shouldn't, but he was going to try and get Rose to open up, at least some, about her past.

"So in the limo you were telling me who you used to be, and it wasn't this girl, so who did you used to be?" Dimitri had a pretty good idea who she used to be already, because he had a feeling she was just like he used to be.

Rose was shocked by his question. It was definitely not something she expected them to talk about, she expected to talk about the case or the weather, but definitely not herself. She opened her mouth to tell him she didn't want to tell him anything about her past, when a thought came to her.

Rose narrowed her eyes, and spoke. "Tell you what Comrade, I'll tell you about me if you tell me about you. You know a little tit for tat." She wanted to know more about this quiet, soft spoken, used to be play boy, of a man.

Dimitri laughed inside himself, but made sure to keep his expression blank. He couldn't help admire her cunning attitude, even if he didn't really want to talk about his past. But as much as he didn't want to talk about himself, he wanted to know Rose.

"Ok, what do you want to know?" Dimitri was hoping the waiter would come with food so they could concentrate on that instead, but of course it didn't happen.

Rose wasn't sure what she wanted to know about him but thinking back to when they were in the limo that was what she wanted to know more about.

"Why did you really leave Russia?"

That was the one question he was trying to avoid. "Anything but that-"

The rest of what Dimitri was cut off by Rose waving her hand. "Nope, you never specified on what I could ask, and if I'm getting into _my_ past then you're spilling yours." The finality of her voice surprised her and Dimitri both. So much so that Dimitri complied.

Dimitri sighed, and resisted the urge to run his hand through his chin length hair. Not meeting Rose's eyes he started telling his story. "My, so called father, and grandfather run the Russian Mafia. My mother, bless her heart, tried her best to keep me and my sisters out of it the fray of it, and until I was eighteen, and a few months from graduating, she did.

The night I turned eighteen both my father and grandfather came to my room and told me more or less I could make the choice to either join in with them, or he would recruit others to fill my place. The only condition was that I had to leave. I couldn't stay there after I graduated."

Rose noticed Dimitri looked sick in telling this and wanted to tell him to stop the story but she had a feeling he needed to get it out.

"I told them that I wouldn't make a decision until I graduated and if they didn't like it I would just leave right then. When they agreed in giving me this time I started planning on how to get out of the country. I saved every dime I could, got my passport, applied to American colleges just for the hell of it. I didn't really figure they would find someone to fill my place, especially not my best friend."

Dimitri stopped talking trying to contain the emotion that was flooding him. He hated the guilt that always coursed through him at the thought of Ivan.

"The only person that knew what I was planning was my best friend, Ivan. He had planned on coming with me, and had even got accepted to the same college that I did.

"Being in a more or less 'mobster' family you always have a backup plan no matter what. We made each other swear that if one or the other didn't show up we would leave and not go looking for the other. So on the night after we graduated we were supposed to leave to come over here. I made it to the airport with my stash of money, passports and clothes. I waited until the last possible moment before boarding the plane, and I was almost there when my phone vibrated with a voicemail.

"The message still haunts me."

Rose could tell Dimitri didn't need to be in a restaurant at all. She wasn't sure what he needed but he definitely didn't need to be around people right then. He had a look in his eye that almost scared her, a look of such hatred she was sure it couldn't be real.

Rose saw the approaching waiter out of the corner of her eye bring a platter full of food and quickly shook her head trying to warn him off. He took the hint with a nod and quickly turned back around and headed in the direction he came.

Rose turned her attention back on Dimitri and almost shied away from the fury radiating off of his face. She wasn't sure what to do; she'd never seen him lose control like this, even if she'd only known him for a little while.

"Dimitri let's go out for a walk. I don't feel comfortable in here." Rose wasn't lying about not feeling comfortable in that kind of restaurant, but she was more worried about Dimitri at the moment.

Rose never got a straight answer out of him so she pushed her chair out, got up and walked over to where Dimitri looked to be trying to calm himself down.

Rose tugged on Dimitri's, now unclenched fist make him leave his chair while she fished in her clutch for money to pay for their meal that they didn't even get to eat.

"Here, just pull three hundreds out and lay them on the table, they won't say anything." Dimitri had fished his wallet out of his slacks and handed it to Rose.

Rose did as he asked, slightly stunned by all the money that was in his wallet. She then grabbed his hand once more and walked outside into the fresh air.

"Dimitri I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you for that. You don't have to finish. I just want to walk for a little while if that's alright." Rose was stunned by how uncomfortable it made her being in that nice of a place. She just wasn't used to it.

"You know what the message was?" Dimitri hadn't let go of Rose's hand it was almost like she was his life line while telling her his worst memory.

Dimitri didn't wait for Rose to respond to his question. "It was of my best friend telling me to get on the plane without him, and then a shot rang out and the phone went dead."

Beside Dimitri, Rose gasped and stutter stepped in order to keep from falling. "God, Dimitri I'm sorry I had no idea."

Dimitri shrugged his massive shoulders and continued walking thinking about how he had never opened up to another person before about Ivan.

They walked in silence for awhile before Rose understood that Dimitri had shut down. He was being consumed by his emotions. She didn't necessarily want to tell her story but she felt as if she needed too.

"I used to be the center of attention, loud, outgoing, loved life. I had everything planned out for the rest of my life, or so I thought.

Mason and I had talked of getting married, having kids, moving to a quiet place. I was working at a bank, and he worked at a high end dealership selling cars. We lived just outside of town in a two story house and had more friends than we knew what to do with."

Dimitri felt his anger subsiding listening to Rose's story; he wasn't the only one that hurt.

"The night of the accident some of my friends and I went out to a club. I was the only one who wasn't single, and there to find some guy apparently. If I would have known I would have had to call Mason to come and get me, I wouldn't have been drinking.

When he got there he acted like it was no big deal, but I could tell he was disappointed in the fact I was half drunk. I had tried to leave my party girl life behind when Lissa moved up here, but it felt good to just forget about things every once in awhile. He never said anything though, just helped me buckle my seat belt and held my hand."

Rose lifted her free hand to her chest absentmindedly, almost to ease the pain that still wrecked havoc on her. But none the less it felt almost a relief she was telling someone that had hurt just as much as she had at the loss of someone so close.

"I don't remember much about the drive back towards the house. I remember Mason telling me something about his day at work, and then blinding lights coming from the other direction and Mason swerving to miss them. Then I woke up in the hospital."

Dimitri pulled Rose to a stop with the hand that he had yet to let go of and took his other tipping her head back, and wiping away her tears.

"It wasn't your fault." Dimitri lightly touched Rose's lips with his thumb to keep her protest to herself and let him finish.

"It wasn't your fault that the accident happened. I didn't know Mason, but I guarantee you he would have gone to the ends of the earth to keep and make you happy, and you beating yourself up every day over something that was inevitable, is what would disappoint him."

Dimitri couldn't believe how close he was to Rose. He couldn't deny it anymore that that this was a date, that he wanted it to be a date. He wanted to be the one to help her through her pain and be the one to make her smile, and laugh. But it couldn't and wouldn't happen. He had this one date and that's all he had, all he would allow himself.

Looking into Dimitri's eyes she could believe that it wasn't her fault, and the guilt that fell away made her almost slump into him. Relief, that's all she felt. Not to say that when she left his presence that guilt wouldn't come back. But a break was nice.

Dimitri couldn't deny the pull that he felt to kiss her. He still had adrenalin coursing through his system from being so angry over Ivan, and with Rose's natural perfume wrapping around him, he couldn't resist that urge.

Rose met Dimitri half way, and couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine from the feel of Dimitri's lips on hers; she felt her heart beating out of control at the taste of him and she couldn't deny her attraction to Dimitri any longer.


End file.
